1998 Chevy Cavalier Alternator

TRUEBREWFAN11

MEMBER
1998 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
73,000 MILES

Let me tell you a little about the problem. In the summer I noticed my car had a really loud whining sound coming from the engine. When I would turn on the air conditioner, it would stop. If I turned off the air conditioner, it would start back up. Last week, I was driving during a pretty good winter storm, so I had the Defrost on full blast, rear defrost, and wipers. I noticed slowly throughout the night, that the lights were getting dimmer and dimmer, and eventually, the car stalled. I would let it sit for a little while, and it would allow me to start it up and move it a little before it died again. I know its the alternator that died, but do you think something else is wrong with it to make the alternator die. The fact that it stops whining when I turn on the air conditioner makes me think that maybe something is making the alternator work too hard. Thanks for your time.

1 Reply

PEAR69

MECHANIC
1,482 POSTS

Test the battery too. Make sure it's holding a charge. The whinning may be the a/c clutch. While you have the tention off the belt to change the alternator, check to see if the a/c compressor spins freely by hand. Also, check all the pullys by hand. Sometimes another pully may be bad and all it needs is a little resistance to stop making a noticable noise. When you turn on your a/c this adds resistance to the whole gig. Also when you turn on the defroster it activates the a/c clutch. Keep me posted